In order to protect equipment from shock and vibration forces shock isolators are employed that attenuate shock and vibration to a support structure to protect the equipment carried by the support structure. Typically, equipment such as consoles have integral visual displays which are isolated from shock and vibration as a whole console unit. The present invention provides a shock isolation system that can separately isolate the display from shock and vibration, forces, yet can be made to appear as if the display is an integral part of the console. A further feature of the invention is that the mounting system permits one to replace the display without having to remove or replace a portion of the console since the display is removably mounted on the console.
The present invention can provide shock and vibration attenuation through the coaction of two separate shock isolators, a first shock isolator that supports the display on the console and a second shock isolator that peripherally surrounds the display and coacts with the first shock isolator to provide enhanced shock and vibration attenuation.
Elastomeric isolators employed in the prior art are commonly formed into geometric 3D shapes, such as spheres, squares, right circular cylinders, cones, rectangles and the like as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,720. These elastomeric isolators are typically attached to a housing to protect equipment within the housing from the effects of shock and vibration.
Various elastomeric materials have been used, or suggested for use, to provide shock and/or vibration damping as stated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,720, which issued on Jun. 16, 1998 to Yamagisht, et al. These materials include natural rubbers and synthetic resins such as polyvinyl chlorides, polyurethane, polyamides polystyrenes, copolymerized polyvinyl chlorides, and poloyolefine synthetic rubbers as well as synthetic materials such as urethane, EPDM, styrene-butadiene rubbers, nitrites, isoprene, chloroprenes, propylene, and silicones. The particular type of elastomeric material is not critical but urethane material sold under the trademark Sorbothane® is currently employed. Suitable material is also sold by Aero E.A.R. Specialty Composites, as Isoloss VL. The registrant of the mark Sorbothane® for urethane material is the Hamiltion Kent Manufacturing Company (Registration No. 1,208,333), Kent, Ohio 44240.
Generally, the shape and configuration of elastomeric isolators have a significant effect on the shock and vibration attenuation characteristics of the elastomeric isolators.
The prior art elastomeric isolators are generally positioned to rely on an axial compression of the elastomeric material or on tension or shear of the elastomeric material. Generally, if the elastomeric isolator is positioned in the axial compressive mode the ability of the elastomeric isolator to attenuate shock and vibration is limited by the compressive characteristics of the material. On the other hand, in the axial compressive mode the elastomeric isolators can be used to provide static support to a housing, which allows a single elastomeric isolator to be placed beneath the housing to support the static weight of the housing. It is the shear type of elastomeric isolators which are preferred for use in the present invention.